1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,560 Well, we've been here in the book of Matthew 2 00:00:02,560 --> 00:00:04,480 for a little while, and I'm gonna do 3 00:00:04,480 --> 00:00:06,760 an abbreviated sermon this morning. 4 00:00:06,760 --> 00:00:08,640 Ha ha ha, that's what every pastor says, right? 5 00:00:08,640 --> 00:00:10,200 Every sermon's abbreviated. 6 00:00:11,700 --> 00:00:13,600 You'll find out how long by the end. 7 00:00:14,740 --> 00:00:17,800 It's abbreviated though, at least page number wise. 8 00:00:17,800 --> 00:00:19,960 We're in Matthew chapter seven. 9 00:00:19,960 --> 00:00:21,780 We've been making our way through Matthew, 10 00:00:21,780 --> 00:00:25,400 and right now we're in the greatest sermon ever preached. 11 00:00:25,400 --> 00:00:28,340 Not this sermon, but the sermon that Jesus preached, 12 00:00:28,340 --> 00:00:30,560 the Sermon on the Mount. 13 00:00:30,560 --> 00:00:34,080 And chapter seven is where we're at, beginning in verse seven, 14 00:00:34,080 --> 00:00:36,600 and the Sermon on the Mount is chapter five through seven, 15 00:00:36,600 --> 00:00:38,800 so we're coming up to the end, 16 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:41,280 wrapping up our time in the Sermon on the Mount. 17 00:00:41,280 --> 00:00:43,460 And we're gonna wrap up today though, 18 00:00:43,460 --> 00:00:46,560 with chapter seven, verse seven, reading, 19 00:00:46,560 --> 00:00:50,980 ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, 20 00:00:50,980 --> 00:00:53,640 knock and the door will be opened to you, 21 00:00:53,640 --> 00:00:56,160 for everyone who asks receives, 22 00:00:56,160 --> 00:00:58,220 and the one who seeks finds, 23 00:00:58,220 --> 00:01:01,000 and the one who knocks the door will be opened. 24 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:05,440 Who among you, if his son asks him for bread, 25 00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:06,960 will give him a stone? 26 00:01:06,960 --> 00:01:10,380 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 27 00:01:10,380 --> 00:01:11,820 If you then who are evil, 28 00:01:11,820 --> 00:01:14,400 know how to give good gifts to your children, 29 00:01:14,400 --> 00:01:17,000 how much more will your Father in heaven 30 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:19,720 give good things to those who ask him? 31 00:01:19,720 --> 00:01:23,660 Therefore, whatever you want others to do for you, 32 00:01:23,660 --> 00:01:26,000 do also the same for them, 33 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:29,880 for this is the law and the prophets. 34 00:01:29,880 --> 00:01:31,180 This is God's word. 35 00:01:33,080 --> 00:01:34,500 We're gonna jump right in, 36 00:01:34,500 --> 00:01:35,680 and I'll give you the first point 37 00:01:35,680 --> 00:01:37,760 that I'll have you write down if you're taking notes. 38 00:01:37,760 --> 00:01:39,360 Write down the sermon's heart. 39 00:01:39,360 --> 00:01:41,920 We're gonna look back over the Sermon on the Mount now, 40 00:01:41,920 --> 00:01:44,360 because we are coming to a bit of a conclusion. 41 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:46,600 And the context of the Sermon on the Mount 42 00:01:46,600 --> 00:01:51,460 is that Jesus has been laying out this new way to be human, 43 00:01:51,460 --> 00:01:54,160 this new way to live in the kingdom. 44 00:01:54,160 --> 00:01:56,460 What does kingdom citizenship look like? 45 00:01:56,460 --> 00:01:59,520 What does it look like to be the new humanity 46 00:01:59,520 --> 00:02:01,200 created in Christ? 47 00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:04,440 And so he's been laying out the ethic of the kingdom, 48 00:02:04,440 --> 00:02:05,440 what it will look like. 49 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:08,560 And what we found is it's upside down. 50 00:02:08,560 --> 00:02:13,200 It doesn't match what this world or society says 51 00:02:13,200 --> 00:02:14,560 is good and right. 52 00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:16,960 The kingdom of God is upside down. 53 00:02:16,960 --> 00:02:20,800 And Jesus talked, for instance, about murder. 54 00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:22,880 And he said, the law says do not murder, 55 00:02:22,880 --> 00:02:25,320 but I tell you what, 56 00:02:25,320 --> 00:02:29,320 don't harbor anger in your heart against your brother, 57 00:02:29,320 --> 00:02:30,160 for it's the same. 58 00:02:30,160 --> 00:02:34,440 There's an equalness to it to murder when we harbor anger, 59 00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:39,440 because at the root, murder may be the external action, 60 00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:42,560 but something was behind that action. 61 00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:44,560 And Jesus is wanting to get at that. 62 00:02:44,560 --> 00:02:47,920 The heart of the sermon is really about getting 63 00:02:47,920 --> 00:02:51,700 beyond the external compliance to the inward holiness 64 00:02:51,700 --> 00:02:52,820 that Jesus desires. 65 00:02:52,820 --> 00:02:55,560 At this time, there were Pharisees, 66 00:02:55,560 --> 00:03:00,040 and Pharisees were a group of people in the first century 67 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:03,840 who cared deeply about obedience to the law, 68 00:03:03,840 --> 00:03:07,440 the law and the prophets being the Old Testament, 69 00:03:07,440 --> 00:03:11,480 the Torah, and they cared really deeply about obeying 70 00:03:11,480 --> 00:03:14,040 each of the laws that were laid out there, 71 00:03:14,040 --> 00:03:15,520 at least in an external way. 72 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:17,600 And so what they would do is they would line their life up 73 00:03:17,600 --> 00:03:20,440 and they would try to meet the requirements of every law. 74 00:03:20,440 --> 00:03:22,000 So if you had to do this, they would do it. 75 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:23,560 If you were prohibited from doing this, 76 00:03:23,560 --> 00:03:25,080 they wouldn't do it, right? 77 00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:30,040 And what they really focused on was that external compliance. 78 00:03:30,040 --> 00:03:32,680 How do I look right on the outside? 79 00:03:33,720 --> 00:03:38,520 And Jesus comes along in Matthew five through seven, 80 00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:42,640 and he says, no, real righteousness is rooted 81 00:03:42,640 --> 00:03:45,760 in spiritually reborn hearts 82 00:03:45,760 --> 00:03:50,560 that naturally produce God-pleasing actions. 83 00:03:50,560 --> 00:03:55,560 You guys know the idea of the good tree produces what? 84 00:03:55,560 --> 00:03:56,880 Good fruit. 85 00:03:56,880 --> 00:04:00,360 And the bad tree produces bad fruit. 86 00:04:02,360 --> 00:04:05,200 And so Jesus comes along and says, 87 00:04:05,200 --> 00:04:09,200 cool about the external compliance, that's great, 88 00:04:09,200 --> 00:04:10,920 but you've missed something. 89 00:04:10,920 --> 00:04:13,200 You didn't go deep enough. 90 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:14,760 You didn't get to the heart of the matter 91 00:04:14,760 --> 00:04:17,080 or the spiritual heart of the matter. 92 00:04:17,080 --> 00:04:18,920 You didn't get to the heart of the matter. 93 00:04:18,920 --> 00:04:20,760 You didn't get to the heart of the matter 94 00:04:20,760 --> 00:04:22,600 or the spiritually reborn heart 95 00:04:22,600 --> 00:04:25,640 that naturally produces the God-pleasing actions 96 00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:26,480 on the outside. 97 00:04:26,480 --> 00:04:31,280 And so in just a quick little Bible nerding out here, 98 00:04:31,280 --> 00:04:34,520 in Hebrew literature or in Hebrew sermons, 99 00:04:34,520 --> 00:04:38,960 the center of a teaching is significant. 100 00:04:38,960 --> 00:04:42,080 So if I laid out the whole teaching of the Sermon on the Mount 101 00:04:42,080 --> 00:04:44,640 in linear fashion, beginning to end, 102 00:04:45,520 --> 00:04:47,120 it would be constructed in a way 103 00:04:47,120 --> 00:04:51,040 that you would look to the center of the teaching 104 00:04:51,040 --> 00:04:55,160 to find the main thrust or the point of the message. 105 00:04:55,160 --> 00:04:57,760 We typically do some sort of story crescendo 106 00:04:57,760 --> 00:04:59,880 toward the back half right. 107 00:04:59,880 --> 00:05:02,360 Or if it's a book nowadays, 108 00:05:02,360 --> 00:05:03,880 basically within the first few pages, 109 00:05:03,880 --> 00:05:05,480 I can tell you what the book's about. 110 00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:08,000 And I put it down before the middle of the thing 111 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:08,840 and never finish it. 112 00:05:08,840 --> 00:05:11,200 I've got so many books that I haven't made halfway through 113 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:13,440 because I can guess the rest of it easily. 114 00:05:13,440 --> 00:05:16,120 But in their stories or in their literature 115 00:05:16,120 --> 00:05:18,520 or their preaching, the main point, 116 00:05:18,520 --> 00:05:21,040 the thrust would be right there in the center 117 00:05:21,040 --> 00:05:23,600 and everything would reverberate out from it. 118 00:05:24,720 --> 00:05:27,800 And so the idea was that you keep circling back around 119 00:05:27,800 --> 00:05:30,200 on this truth and you let it permeate your heart 120 00:05:30,200 --> 00:05:31,520 and you meditate on it. 121 00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:34,040 And when you get to the end, you go back to the beginning 122 00:05:34,040 --> 00:05:35,440 and then you get to the center 123 00:05:35,440 --> 00:05:40,440 and you see how it all fills out the meaning of the teaching. 124 00:05:40,440 --> 00:05:43,760 And so you might say the sermon on the mount 125 00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:47,560 laid out in front of us, it had an introduction. 126 00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:49,720 And the introduction was the Beatitudes, 127 00:05:49,720 --> 00:05:51,480 blessed are the poor in spirit, right? 128 00:05:51,480 --> 00:05:52,320 That was the introduction. 129 00:05:52,320 --> 00:05:53,920 But after the introduction, 130 00:05:53,920 --> 00:05:58,920 to get into the main body of teaching or the center section, 131 00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:02,360 the sermon began that portion of it in verse 17 132 00:06:02,360 --> 00:06:05,040 of chapter five with these words. 133 00:06:05,040 --> 00:06:08,760 Don't think that I came to abolish the law or the prophet. 134 00:06:08,760 --> 00:06:12,080 I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 135 00:06:12,080 --> 00:06:15,040 For truly I tell you until heaven and earth pass away, 136 00:06:15,040 --> 00:06:18,280 not the smallest letter or one stroke of a letter 137 00:06:18,280 --> 00:06:19,800 will pass away from the law 138 00:06:19,800 --> 00:06:22,240 until all things are accomplished. 139 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:25,960 Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commands 140 00:06:25,960 --> 00:06:28,120 and teaches others to do the same 141 00:06:28,120 --> 00:06:30,520 will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. 142 00:06:30,520 --> 00:06:33,160 But whoever does and teaches these commands 143 00:06:33,160 --> 00:06:35,360 will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 144 00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:37,520 For I tell you that I will not let you 145 00:06:37,520 --> 00:06:40,560 and for I tell you unless your righteousness 146 00:06:40,560 --> 00:06:43,360 surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, 147 00:06:43,360 --> 00:06:46,200 you will never get into the kingdom of heaven. 148 00:06:47,760 --> 00:06:49,400 And so there's the intro, 149 00:06:49,400 --> 00:06:51,680 the Beatitudes in the surrounding scripture. 150 00:06:51,680 --> 00:06:55,400 And then at 17, Matthew 17 begins this center section, 151 00:06:55,400 --> 00:06:57,000 the main body. 152 00:06:57,000 --> 00:06:58,920 And it begins with him saying, 153 00:06:58,920 --> 00:07:00,680 I didn't come to abolish the law, 154 00:07:00,680 --> 00:07:03,840 but I came to fill it full of meaning. 155 00:07:03,840 --> 00:07:04,880 To fill it full. 156 00:07:04,880 --> 00:07:08,400 I didn't come to say, hey, it doesn't matter. 157 00:07:08,400 --> 00:07:10,920 You're free from the law, don't worry about it. 158 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:13,680 But to fill the meaning of the law full 159 00:07:13,680 --> 00:07:15,400 so that we got at the heart of the matter 160 00:07:15,400 --> 00:07:17,680 of what the law was talking about. 161 00:07:17,680 --> 00:07:19,840 And then Jesus goes on to say, 162 00:07:19,840 --> 00:07:21,640 if your righteousness though 163 00:07:21,640 --> 00:07:23,920 doesn't surpass the righteousness 164 00:07:23,920 --> 00:07:25,120 of those who are concerned 165 00:07:25,120 --> 00:07:28,240 about the external compliance alone, 166 00:07:28,240 --> 00:07:31,640 then you'll never make it into the kingdom of heaven. 167 00:07:31,640 --> 00:07:35,200 And that means that simply cleaning up the outside, 168 00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:36,720 obeying the law on the outside 169 00:07:36,720 --> 00:07:39,440 is not sufficient to get you into the kingdom of heaven. 170 00:07:39,440 --> 00:07:42,160 It is sufficient to get you looking like a Christian 171 00:07:42,160 --> 00:07:44,400 on the outside, at least for a time. 172 00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:47,000 But it's not sufficient to get you 173 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:48,400 into the kingdom of heaven. 174 00:07:49,800 --> 00:07:53,600 And Jesus says, you need a greater righteousness. 175 00:07:54,920 --> 00:07:56,880 You need a greater righteousness 176 00:07:56,880 --> 00:08:00,840 than simply cleaning up your life and obeying the law. 177 00:08:00,840 --> 00:08:02,440 And what is a greater righteousness? 178 00:08:02,440 --> 00:08:04,720 What does that even mean? 179 00:08:04,720 --> 00:08:06,960 What does righteousness mean? 180 00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:10,160 And I would hold out something like this, 181 00:08:10,160 --> 00:08:14,800 a holistic God-centered way of living. 182 00:08:15,960 --> 00:08:17,640 And why do I say holistic? 183 00:08:17,640 --> 00:08:19,920 A holistic God-centered way of living. 184 00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:23,560 It means inner alignment with God's will. 185 00:08:23,560 --> 00:08:28,560 Or you might break it down to motive, thought and action. 186 00:08:29,240 --> 00:08:31,920 Holistic, all of them. 187 00:08:33,040 --> 00:08:36,800 The external cleaning up, the external circumstances, 188 00:08:36,800 --> 00:08:39,160 the external cleaning up of a person, 189 00:08:39,160 --> 00:08:40,400 well, that's just action. 190 00:08:41,400 --> 00:08:44,800 But a holistic God-centered way of living 191 00:08:44,800 --> 00:08:48,800 is motive, thought and action. 192 00:08:49,800 --> 00:08:51,680 Because I don't know, you guys know this, right? 193 00:08:51,680 --> 00:08:54,840 There's a whole lot that makes up our life 194 00:08:54,840 --> 00:08:56,960 than just what's on the outside, yes? 195 00:08:58,520 --> 00:09:00,880 Your thought life alone. 196 00:09:00,880 --> 00:09:05,880 I was talking to someone before who has the gift 197 00:09:05,880 --> 00:09:08,040 and the strength of ideation. 198 00:09:08,040 --> 00:09:10,360 And we were talking about at night, right? 199 00:09:10,360 --> 00:09:13,000 You lay down and it's like, oh, I'm ready to go to bed. 200 00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:14,240 And two or three hours later, 201 00:09:14,240 --> 00:09:16,200 you've gone through a thousand ideas 202 00:09:16,200 --> 00:09:18,600 and you put them all out, you're ready to go. 203 00:09:18,600 --> 00:09:21,040 You're ideating, ideating, ideating, 204 00:09:21,040 --> 00:09:22,880 ideating, ideating, ideating. 205 00:09:22,880 --> 00:09:24,360 We didn't see any of that. 206 00:09:25,400 --> 00:09:28,440 That was a part of your life that we never saw. 207 00:09:29,920 --> 00:09:32,840 A God-centered way of living 208 00:09:32,840 --> 00:09:35,400 is in our alignment with God's will, 209 00:09:35,400 --> 00:09:38,800 motive, thought and action. 210 00:09:39,760 --> 00:09:41,160 That's righteousness. 211 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:44,680 That's what the greater righteousness looks like 212 00:09:44,680 --> 00:09:45,880 that Jesus is calling. 213 00:09:45,880 --> 00:09:51,480 God-pleasing, kingdom-seeking heart. 214 00:09:51,480 --> 00:09:53,880 And then he says, well, all that stuff 215 00:09:53,880 --> 00:09:55,040 that everyone tries to do, 216 00:09:55,040 --> 00:09:59,600 the kind of external compliance to the law, 217 00:09:59,600 --> 00:10:02,880 all that stuff comes naturally 218 00:10:02,880 --> 00:10:06,320 when you have motive and thought in order, 219 00:10:06,320 --> 00:10:08,320 action flows naturally out, 220 00:10:08,320 --> 00:10:11,440 the fruit of a heart in alignment. 221 00:10:11,440 --> 00:10:13,080 But some try to bypass that 222 00:10:13,080 --> 00:10:17,080 and only work on the surface-deep external compliance. 223 00:10:21,160 --> 00:10:24,680 And so you have the greater righteousness required 224 00:10:24,680 --> 00:10:28,000 at the beginning of the center portion of the sermon. 225 00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:31,320 You have the introduction, the beatitudes. 226 00:10:31,320 --> 00:10:33,920 You have the beginning of the center portion, 227 00:10:33,920 --> 00:10:37,040 which is you need a greater righteousness. 228 00:10:37,040 --> 00:10:38,920 And at the end of the center portion, 229 00:10:38,920 --> 00:10:40,640 before we get to the conclusion, 230 00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:42,600 which we'll launch into next week, 231 00:10:42,600 --> 00:10:43,960 one of our servant leaders, Nick, 232 00:10:43,960 --> 00:10:45,320 is gonna be preaching next week, 233 00:10:45,320 --> 00:10:48,240 leading us into the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount. 234 00:10:48,240 --> 00:10:50,680 Right before that, the thing that turns 235 00:10:50,680 --> 00:10:54,040 or transitions us into the conclusion 236 00:10:54,040 --> 00:10:57,200 are the words of verse 12 that we read, 237 00:10:57,200 --> 00:11:00,160 known as the golden rule. 238 00:11:00,160 --> 00:11:02,600 Therefore, and the therefore is not just about 239 00:11:02,600 --> 00:11:04,640 what's right before it in the passage, 240 00:11:04,640 --> 00:11:08,080 it's all the way back to verse 17 of chapter five, 241 00:11:08,080 --> 00:11:09,600 the center section. 242 00:11:09,600 --> 00:11:12,400 Therefore, all of the things we've talked about, 243 00:11:12,400 --> 00:11:17,320 murder and anger and judgment and prayer and fasting, 244 00:11:17,320 --> 00:11:18,480 everything we've talked about, 245 00:11:18,480 --> 00:11:22,040 therefore, whatever you want others to do for you, 246 00:11:22,040 --> 00:11:23,760 do also the same for them, 247 00:11:23,760 --> 00:11:26,080 for this is the law and the prophets. 248 00:11:26,080 --> 00:11:30,320 This is the law filled full of meaning. 249 00:11:32,160 --> 00:11:34,760 Dallas Willard in The Divine Conspiracy said, 250 00:11:34,760 --> 00:11:37,840 actions do not emerge from nowhere. 251 00:11:37,840 --> 00:11:42,840 They faithfully reveal what is in the heart. 252 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:48,600 And this, Lord's, we covered it for a while 253 00:11:48,600 --> 00:11:51,560 because we broke down the Lord's Prayer in detail, 254 00:11:51,560 --> 00:11:53,920 but if you go the beginning, the introduction, 255 00:11:53,920 --> 00:11:55,960 Beatitudes, the center section, 256 00:11:55,960 --> 00:11:59,920 verse 17 of chapter five to verse 12 of chapter seven, 257 00:11:59,920 --> 00:12:01,880 and then the conclusion to the end, 258 00:12:01,880 --> 00:12:05,520 what is in the center of the center? 259 00:12:05,520 --> 00:12:08,440 In other words, what is this all centering around? 260 00:12:08,440 --> 00:12:11,000 And that is the Lord's Prayer. 261 00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:13,560 The Lord's Prayer is at the center of the center 262 00:12:13,560 --> 00:12:15,400 of the Sermon on the Mount, 263 00:12:15,400 --> 00:12:18,680 and what is at the center of the center of the center? 264 00:12:22,960 --> 00:12:26,680 Our Father in heaven, your name be honored as holy, 265 00:12:27,560 --> 00:12:31,680 your kingdom come, your will be done 266 00:12:31,680 --> 00:12:34,000 on earth as it is in heaven. 267 00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:37,120 The center of the center of the center 268 00:12:37,120 --> 00:12:40,720 is your kingdom come and your will be done 269 00:12:40,720 --> 00:12:42,200 on earth as it is in heaven. 270 00:12:43,480 --> 00:12:48,200 In other words, nothing in the Sermon can stand alone. 271 00:12:49,120 --> 00:12:52,040 Nothing in the Sermon can be plucked out 272 00:12:52,040 --> 00:12:53,760 and said, oh, just live this principle 273 00:12:53,760 --> 00:12:55,520 and you'll be a good person, 274 00:12:55,520 --> 00:12:58,640 or live this way and you'll be righteous, 275 00:12:58,640 --> 00:13:03,320 unless it all is in context and all centered around 276 00:13:03,320 --> 00:13:06,640 God's kingdom and his will being done. 277 00:13:08,600 --> 00:13:11,080 And the truth is, this prayer, the Lord's Prayer, 278 00:13:11,080 --> 00:13:12,400 your kingdom come, your will be done, 279 00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:15,400 this is not a prayer that atheists are praying. 280 00:13:15,400 --> 00:13:18,680 This is not a prayer that agnostics are praying. 281 00:13:18,680 --> 00:13:21,520 No, this is a prayer that only the transformed, 282 00:13:21,520 --> 00:13:24,120 new created kingdom citizens pray, 283 00:13:25,640 --> 00:13:28,440 because they're the ones seeking his kingdom and his will. 284 00:13:30,120 --> 00:13:32,000 And so we end with verse 12, 285 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:34,840 therefore, whatever you want others to do for you, 286 00:13:34,840 --> 00:13:36,440 do also the same for them, 287 00:13:36,440 --> 00:13:38,640 for this is the law and the prophets. 288 00:13:38,640 --> 00:13:43,080 That is, the heart of the Sermon is a God-centered, 289 00:13:44,040 --> 00:13:46,280 holistic way of living. 290 00:13:47,880 --> 00:13:49,240 Your kingdom come, your will be done. 291 00:13:49,240 --> 00:13:50,360 If you're taking notes, the second thing 292 00:13:50,360 --> 00:13:53,000 I'll have you write down is the Sermon summary. 293 00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:54,240 Do unto others. 294 00:13:55,680 --> 00:13:58,200 This isn't a catch-all phrase. 295 00:13:58,200 --> 00:14:01,840 This isn't a one size fits all morality rule. 296 00:14:01,840 --> 00:14:03,520 Some have tried to reduce it 297 00:14:03,520 --> 00:14:06,680 to some oversimplified social code. 298 00:14:06,680 --> 00:14:08,320 I've read a bunch of articles this week 299 00:14:08,320 --> 00:14:09,640 in preparation for this, 300 00:14:09,640 --> 00:14:11,040 and one of the things that struck me 301 00:14:11,040 --> 00:14:12,560 is that a lot of people say, 302 00:14:12,560 --> 00:14:15,840 you know, the golden rule is outdated. 303 00:14:17,240 --> 00:14:18,720 The golden rule cannot apply, 304 00:14:18,720 --> 00:14:20,640 because in a pluralistic society, 305 00:14:20,640 --> 00:14:24,360 in a culture like we are, your truth is not my truth. 306 00:14:24,360 --> 00:14:26,680 And so what you want done for you or to you 307 00:14:26,680 --> 00:14:29,040 is not what I want done for me or to me, 308 00:14:29,040 --> 00:14:32,040 and so we need to move beyond the golden rule. 309 00:14:32,040 --> 00:14:36,280 And so it's interesting that beyond the golden rule, 310 00:14:36,280 --> 00:14:39,240 they have come up with what's called the platinum rule. 311 00:14:40,680 --> 00:14:42,600 You know, one up Jesus here. 312 00:14:44,280 --> 00:14:45,520 Platinum rule. 313 00:14:46,360 --> 00:14:48,480 And here's the platinum rule. 314 00:14:48,480 --> 00:14:49,920 Put on your discerning ears here 315 00:14:49,920 --> 00:14:52,840 and tell me if this sounds good and right. 316 00:14:52,840 --> 00:14:54,800 So the platinum rule is, 317 00:14:54,800 --> 00:14:59,560 treat others the way that they wanna be treated. 318 00:15:02,160 --> 00:15:04,920 Could you imagine if I applied that rule to my kids? 319 00:15:07,520 --> 00:15:10,480 Dad, I wanna do 20 more hours of buttons today. 320 00:15:11,720 --> 00:15:14,440 That's how I wanna be treated, right? 321 00:15:14,440 --> 00:15:16,960 I wanna be addressed as master and commander. 322 00:15:18,320 --> 00:15:21,440 You will from now on, yes, master and commander, 323 00:15:21,440 --> 00:15:23,480 whatever you want. 324 00:15:23,480 --> 00:15:27,000 The platinum rule, which outdoes the golden rule. 325 00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:28,880 And that's because they're trying to take it 326 00:15:28,880 --> 00:15:31,120 and use it as some sort of morality rule, 327 00:15:31,120 --> 00:15:32,720 one size fits all. 328 00:15:32,720 --> 00:15:34,520 Hey, you can apply it to anything and it works, 329 00:15:34,520 --> 00:15:37,760 but you cannot detach the golden rule 330 00:15:37,760 --> 00:15:39,840 from the rest of Jesus's teachings. 331 00:15:41,080 --> 00:15:44,280 The golden rule is centered on your kingdom come, 332 00:15:44,280 --> 00:15:46,680 your will be done, not my will. 333 00:15:48,120 --> 00:15:50,520 And so you can't pluck it out and try to use it. 334 00:15:50,520 --> 00:15:52,640 Hey, let's give it to an atheist 335 00:15:52,640 --> 00:15:55,080 and they'll employ this and they'll live a righteous life. 336 00:15:55,080 --> 00:16:00,080 No, no, because it's centered on the kingdom of God 337 00:16:00,760 --> 00:16:03,240 and the will of God advancing. 338 00:16:03,240 --> 00:16:07,800 And what the truth is, the golden rule is not good 339 00:16:07,800 --> 00:16:11,200 if it's relying only on what I want for myself either, 340 00:16:11,200 --> 00:16:14,440 because sometimes I don't want good things for myself. 341 00:16:15,840 --> 00:16:17,600 And if I then impose that on other people, 342 00:16:17,600 --> 00:16:20,880 I might mistreat them and be quite unloving to them 343 00:16:20,880 --> 00:16:23,280 if I give them what I want for myself. 344 00:16:26,320 --> 00:16:30,680 And so what we need is to be reshaped and reoriented. 345 00:16:30,680 --> 00:16:35,120 Our wants need to be recreated or reborn 346 00:16:35,120 --> 00:16:37,000 to be the kind of wants and desires 347 00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:40,600 that are in line with God and his will and his kingdom. 348 00:16:41,480 --> 00:16:43,600 And want is an interesting word in there. 349 00:16:43,600 --> 00:16:46,320 It says, as a part of that passage, 350 00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:48,680 whatever you want others to do for you, 351 00:16:48,680 --> 00:16:50,960 do also the same for them. 352 00:16:50,960 --> 00:16:53,240 The word want, it traces its origin 353 00:16:53,240 --> 00:16:55,200 all the way back to the Garden of Eden. 354 00:16:56,040 --> 00:17:00,000 It's a word that could be translated want or will or desire. 355 00:17:01,200 --> 00:17:03,560 And that Greek word in the Greek Septuagint 356 00:17:03,560 --> 00:17:05,400 shows up in the Garden of Eden. 357 00:17:05,400 --> 00:17:08,280 It's there when Eve is deceived by the serpent 358 00:17:09,360 --> 00:17:12,200 and she looks at the tree and the fruit on the tree 359 00:17:13,440 --> 00:17:16,080 and it looks desirable. 360 00:17:16,080 --> 00:17:17,720 In other words, she wants it. 361 00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:22,480 She wants the fruit that God commanded not to eat of. 362 00:17:22,480 --> 00:17:23,320 She wants it. 363 00:17:24,320 --> 00:17:28,000 And so that word shows up and I think as a reader 364 00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:30,480 of the Sermon on the Mount is supposed to draw us back 365 00:17:30,480 --> 00:17:33,040 to going, hey, not all wants are holy. 366 00:17:34,400 --> 00:17:36,240 Not all wants are righteous. 367 00:17:36,240 --> 00:17:38,280 Which wants are we talking about here? 368 00:17:38,280 --> 00:17:45,280 And to say, wait a sec, we don't want those wants. 369 00:17:45,280 --> 00:17:47,040 And then that word appears again 370 00:17:47,040 --> 00:17:49,120 twice in the Sermon on the Mount. 371 00:17:49,120 --> 00:17:51,760 Once in verse 12 where it says, 372 00:17:51,760 --> 00:17:54,000 whatever you want others to do for you, 373 00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:56,680 do also the same for them. 374 00:17:56,680 --> 00:17:58,160 And the second place that it appears 375 00:17:58,160 --> 00:18:00,400 in the Sermon on the Mount is in the word 376 00:18:00,400 --> 00:18:03,800 when it says, your kingdom come, your will be done. 377 00:18:03,800 --> 00:18:06,600 Will is the same word as want and desire. 378 00:18:06,600 --> 00:18:08,800 The same word that's used at the end, 379 00:18:08,800 --> 00:18:11,160 the same word that's used in the Garden of Eden 380 00:18:11,160 --> 00:18:12,760 in the Septuagint in the Greek. 381 00:18:13,880 --> 00:18:15,960 It's the same word and so it's supposed to, 382 00:18:15,960 --> 00:18:18,240 as we're reading the Bible, draw our minds 383 00:18:18,240 --> 00:18:20,120 and start to piece this together and meditate 384 00:18:20,120 --> 00:18:21,880 on these different kinds of wants 385 00:18:21,880 --> 00:18:23,880 and some of them didn't turn out very well. 386 00:18:25,200 --> 00:18:28,680 But we also want God's will or God's want to be done. 387 00:18:30,080 --> 00:18:31,400 And this is one of the exciting parts 388 00:18:31,400 --> 00:18:32,760 about the Sermon on the Mount. 389 00:18:32,760 --> 00:18:35,000 It's that Jesus is showing us a better way 390 00:18:35,000 --> 00:18:40,000 to live, a better way to want, a better thing to desire. 391 00:18:40,080 --> 00:18:43,040 He's inviting us in to live a life centered 392 00:18:43,040 --> 00:18:45,840 on God's will and desire, a life that orients 393 00:18:45,840 --> 00:18:48,080 around God's will and desire in his kingdom 394 00:18:48,080 --> 00:18:51,760 and to let our minds and our hearts be transformed by that. 395 00:18:53,600 --> 00:18:55,760 There was a time when Jesus was asked 396 00:18:55,760 --> 00:18:57,840 in an attempt to kind of corner him 397 00:18:57,840 --> 00:19:00,960 and get something on him, get some dirt on him. 398 00:19:00,960 --> 00:19:03,320 He was asked by one of the Pharisees, 399 00:19:03,320 --> 00:19:06,480 a teacher, which command in the law is the greatest? 400 00:19:08,320 --> 00:19:09,560 Listen to Jesus' answer. 401 00:19:09,560 --> 00:19:12,240 He said, love the Lord your God with all your heart 402 00:19:12,240 --> 00:19:14,760 and with all your soul and with all your mind. 403 00:19:14,760 --> 00:19:18,120 This is the greatest and most important command, 404 00:19:18,120 --> 00:19:19,520 but I'm gonna give you more. 405 00:19:20,520 --> 00:19:24,400 The second is like it, love your neighbor as yourself. 406 00:19:24,400 --> 00:19:29,400 All the law and prophets depend on these two commands. 407 00:19:29,400 --> 00:19:32,040 And don't get hung up on, what does he mean by depend? 408 00:19:32,040 --> 00:19:34,520 Here and over there, he said, that is the law and prophets. 409 00:19:34,520 --> 00:19:36,320 And then sometimes he says, hangs on, 410 00:19:36,320 --> 00:19:37,840 these all mean the same thing. 411 00:19:38,880 --> 00:19:42,640 These are the heart or the principle of the law and commands. 412 00:19:43,960 --> 00:19:44,800 What is it? 413 00:19:44,800 --> 00:19:47,600 Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. 414 00:19:47,600 --> 00:19:51,200 Have a holistic God-centered desire. 415 00:19:52,800 --> 00:19:55,120 But you can't ignore the other side of the coin. 416 00:19:56,520 --> 00:20:00,160 Love your neighbor as yourself. 417 00:20:00,160 --> 00:20:03,000 Same coin, two sides. 418 00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:05,400 And so he couldn't say, there's only one command, 419 00:20:05,400 --> 00:20:08,200 that's all you have to do for the rest of your life. 420 00:20:08,200 --> 00:20:11,000 Truth is, the Pharisee would have walked away going, 421 00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:12,320 cool, doing it. 422 00:20:13,640 --> 00:20:15,520 But it was the second command that he said 423 00:20:15,520 --> 00:20:18,560 is glued right to that first command, 424 00:20:18,560 --> 00:20:21,000 which is that out of the love that you have for God 425 00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:23,320 and the orientation that you have around him, 426 00:20:23,320 --> 00:20:26,040 you are going to begin to see the fruits of love 427 00:20:26,040 --> 00:20:28,520 show up in the way that you treat other people. 428 00:20:28,520 --> 00:20:31,120 And you will not be able to help it. 429 00:20:32,080 --> 00:20:34,560 You must orient first around God, 430 00:20:34,560 --> 00:20:36,040 but you're going to see that you are going 431 00:20:36,040 --> 00:20:37,520 to love your neighbor. 432 00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:40,560 And part of the process God's gonna lead you through 433 00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:42,760 is that he's gonna show you who your neighbor is 434 00:20:42,760 --> 00:20:45,560 and it's gonna be much broader than you thought it was 435 00:20:47,480 --> 00:20:51,600 as the parable of the good Samaritan showed, right? 436 00:20:51,600 --> 00:20:53,680 What a wacky parable, right? 437 00:20:53,680 --> 00:20:55,640 I just would have loved to be there. 438 00:20:55,640 --> 00:20:57,240 That would have been so awesome. 439 00:20:57,240 --> 00:20:59,240 That would have been so awesome. 440 00:20:59,240 --> 00:21:02,160 Because in the end, the Samaritan's a good person. 441 00:21:02,160 --> 00:21:04,040 He's talking to Jews and that would have been wild 442 00:21:04,040 --> 00:21:07,440 because the Samaritans and Jews just did not get along. 443 00:21:07,440 --> 00:21:10,280 They hated each other and were constantly bickering 444 00:21:10,280 --> 00:21:12,160 in that war with each other. 445 00:21:12,160 --> 00:21:14,600 And then he uses this parable to say, 446 00:21:14,600 --> 00:21:17,520 the Samaritan understood what it meant to love his neighbor. 447 00:21:18,440 --> 00:21:22,360 And so he will wildly reshape who you think your neighbor is 448 00:21:22,360 --> 00:21:25,800 and who you are obligated in Christ to love. 449 00:21:25,800 --> 00:21:27,640 But don't think you can get there on your own 450 00:21:27,640 --> 00:21:30,120 or that you can somehow work your way to that love. 451 00:21:30,120 --> 00:21:32,480 It starts with re-centering and reorienting your life 452 00:21:32,480 --> 00:21:34,280 around God and his will. 453 00:21:34,280 --> 00:21:36,560 You have to pray that prayer, the Lord's Prayer. 454 00:21:36,560 --> 00:21:38,000 Your kingdom come, your will be done 455 00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:41,240 because my will is sure fighting against it all the time. 456 00:21:42,360 --> 00:21:44,600 Reorienting around you. 457 00:21:44,600 --> 00:21:46,280 But something else that's interesting about 458 00:21:46,280 --> 00:21:50,800 also the golden rule is that Jesus, 459 00:21:50,800 --> 00:21:55,000 while wise, infinitely, he was not the first one 460 00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:56,480 to say it. 461 00:21:56,480 --> 00:21:59,280 It shows up hundreds of years before him, 462 00:21:59,280 --> 00:22:01,440 both in the positive and the negative. 463 00:22:01,440 --> 00:22:03,600 Now, most of the ones around his time 464 00:22:03,600 --> 00:22:04,800 were written in the negative, 465 00:22:04,800 --> 00:22:07,200 which makes sense why he put it in the positive. 466 00:22:07,200 --> 00:22:09,040 The negative went something like this. 467 00:22:09,040 --> 00:22:12,800 Don't do to others what you yourself hate. 468 00:22:14,280 --> 00:22:17,120 And this was talked about in Jewish rabbinical circles. 469 00:22:17,120 --> 00:22:19,840 Don't do to others what you yourself hate, right? 470 00:22:20,880 --> 00:22:23,320 Which is, hey, don't harm people. 471 00:22:23,320 --> 00:22:25,440 Don't harm people. 472 00:22:25,440 --> 00:22:27,440 Don't harm people. 473 00:22:27,440 --> 00:22:31,080 But notice that it doesn't have a proactive element to it. 474 00:22:31,080 --> 00:22:32,800 It's just refrain from doing things 475 00:22:32,800 --> 00:22:36,800 that other people will hate because you don't like it. 476 00:22:36,800 --> 00:22:40,240 But Jesus twists it and turns it and says, basically, 477 00:22:40,240 --> 00:22:43,240 oh no, the kind of love I'm calling you to, 478 00:22:43,240 --> 00:22:46,360 the kind of doing I'm calling you to is proactive. 479 00:22:46,360 --> 00:22:49,200 It's actively seeking the good of others. 480 00:22:49,200 --> 00:22:52,480 It's getting into their business to do good, 481 00:22:52,480 --> 00:22:54,800 to work for their advantage, 482 00:22:56,400 --> 00:22:58,400 to see the kingdom of God, 483 00:22:58,400 --> 00:23:03,400 and God's will break into their lives and change things. 484 00:23:05,480 --> 00:23:10,480 Friends, God's love is always in tangible ways 485 00:23:10,480 --> 00:23:11,320 through his people. 486 00:23:11,320 --> 00:23:13,480 It shows up in people's lives. 487 00:23:15,760 --> 00:23:18,640 John Stott said, the golden rule is the distillation 488 00:23:18,640 --> 00:23:20,600 of Jesus' teaching about love. 489 00:23:20,600 --> 00:23:23,720 It is no exaggeration to say that it is the pinnacle 490 00:23:23,720 --> 00:23:26,920 and summary of his ethical command. 491 00:23:26,920 --> 00:23:31,080 And yet it has to be centered on all of Jesus' teachings. 492 00:23:31,080 --> 00:23:32,400 It cannot be plucked out. 493 00:23:34,040 --> 00:23:35,360 I'm gonna invite the worship team to come 494 00:23:35,360 --> 00:23:38,200 and join me on stage as I move to the third point 495 00:23:38,200 --> 00:23:42,960 and as we aim toward wrapping up our service today. 496 00:23:42,960 --> 00:23:43,800 But if you're taking notes, 497 00:23:43,800 --> 00:23:46,520 the third point is the sermon's practice. 498 00:23:47,480 --> 00:23:48,680 The sermon's practice, 499 00:23:48,680 --> 00:23:52,120 what it means to live out the life 500 00:23:52,120 --> 00:23:55,000 that Jesus has been laying out 501 00:23:55,000 --> 00:23:58,080 in Matthew chapter five through seven. 502 00:23:58,080 --> 00:24:01,000 And again, we're gonna get to the conclusion of the sermon. 503 00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:04,400 Next week, Nick will start us into that process. 504 00:24:04,400 --> 00:24:07,680 Looking forward to hearing his message next week. 505 00:24:07,680 --> 00:24:09,000 Sorry, I got in your way. 506 00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:11,240 Ha ha, I don't know where to go. 507 00:24:15,480 --> 00:24:17,840 And the truth is, at the core of Jesus' teaching 508 00:24:17,840 --> 00:24:20,320 throughout the Sermon on the Mount, 509 00:24:20,320 --> 00:24:23,160 the core of it is the people of God 510 00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:25,160 imitating God in his character. 511 00:24:27,440 --> 00:24:29,040 It's us being like our dad. 512 00:24:30,480 --> 00:24:32,000 Be like your dad. 513 00:24:33,320 --> 00:24:36,120 When it comes to the way you treat others, 514 00:24:36,120 --> 00:24:37,600 be like your dad. 515 00:24:39,280 --> 00:24:41,440 When it comes to the way that you think, 516 00:24:42,680 --> 00:24:46,520 think in a way that is honoring to your Father in heaven. 517 00:24:46,520 --> 00:24:49,440 When it comes, remember, like, 518 00:24:50,600 --> 00:24:51,960 he is present. 519 00:24:52,960 --> 00:24:54,880 He is there in your thought life. 520 00:24:54,880 --> 00:24:56,560 He is there in your motivation. 521 00:24:56,560 --> 00:24:58,760 He sees your motivations. 522 00:24:58,760 --> 00:25:03,760 You can't do a righteous act from an unholy motivation 523 00:25:03,760 --> 00:25:05,080 and get away with it. 524 00:25:06,840 --> 00:25:08,480 You can't get away with it. 525 00:25:08,480 --> 00:25:10,120 You can't pull it over on God. 526 00:25:10,120 --> 00:25:11,920 There's no game you can play. 527 00:25:11,920 --> 00:25:13,720 He's there and present. 528 00:25:13,720 --> 00:25:17,880 And so the people of God imitating God and his character, 529 00:25:17,880 --> 00:25:20,800 this is what it means to live out the kingdom life. 530 00:25:22,200 --> 00:25:24,360 And so I'll ask you a few questions. 531 00:25:24,360 --> 00:25:29,360 Has he loved you when you were seemingly unlovable? 532 00:25:31,800 --> 00:25:33,600 Yes? 533 00:25:33,600 --> 00:25:35,520 Let's raise our hands. 534 00:25:35,520 --> 00:25:39,200 Boast in our weakness so we can boast in his strength. 535 00:25:39,200 --> 00:25:42,560 Yes, he has loved us when we were seemingly unlovable. 536 00:25:42,560 --> 00:25:45,400 And so love the unlovable in that way. 537 00:25:47,840 --> 00:25:49,000 That's what it means. 538 00:25:52,600 --> 00:25:57,600 Has he provided for your every need, not your wants, 539 00:25:59,080 --> 00:26:00,680 not your calculations on a page, 540 00:26:00,680 --> 00:26:03,640 but has he been faithful to provide for your every need? 541 00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:04,480 Amen? 542 00:26:04,480 --> 00:26:05,320 Amen. 543 00:26:06,280 --> 00:26:08,680 Then provide for the needs of others 544 00:26:08,680 --> 00:26:10,920 because you may well be God's hand 545 00:26:10,920 --> 00:26:12,760 in their life. 546 00:26:12,760 --> 00:26:14,640 Look like your father. 547 00:26:17,640 --> 00:26:19,760 When you were an enemy of God, 548 00:26:20,760 --> 00:26:25,040 when you had rejected the cross and rejected salvation, 549 00:26:25,040 --> 00:26:26,560 when you gave no attention to it, 550 00:26:26,560 --> 00:26:29,600 when you wanted nothing to do with Christ, 551 00:26:29,600 --> 00:26:31,200 did Christ seek you out? 552 00:26:33,560 --> 00:26:37,120 And seek out your enemy and love them. 553 00:26:37,120 --> 00:26:42,120 Be like your Savior. 554 00:26:42,120 --> 00:26:42,960 Be like God. 555 00:26:45,520 --> 00:26:46,920 You know, when Jesus was persecuted 556 00:26:46,920 --> 00:26:49,560 and he was put on the cross after being spat upon 557 00:26:49,560 --> 00:26:51,480 and whipped and beaten, 558 00:26:52,600 --> 00:26:55,040 didn't he pray for his persecutors? 559 00:26:58,280 --> 00:27:01,120 Do you wanna destroy your persecutors 560 00:27:02,400 --> 00:27:04,360 or do you wanna pray for your persecutors? 561 00:27:04,360 --> 00:27:07,280 Or do you wanna pray for your persecutors? 562 00:27:08,680 --> 00:27:09,920 Be like your father. 563 00:27:11,640 --> 00:27:12,560 Be like God. 564 00:27:13,640 --> 00:27:15,840 Walk in the righteousness. 565 00:27:15,840 --> 00:27:19,400 Center your life around his righteousness, his will. 566 00:27:19,400 --> 00:27:21,320 See what he's doing and do it. 567 00:27:23,640 --> 00:27:25,000 Has God ever lied to you? 568 00:27:26,480 --> 00:27:28,080 And don't lie to your fellow man. 569 00:27:28,080 --> 00:27:31,480 Has God ever been unfaithful to you? 570 00:27:31,480 --> 00:27:34,320 That husbands don't be unfaithful to your wife 571 00:27:35,920 --> 00:27:38,240 and wives don't be unfaithful to your husband. 572 00:27:39,120 --> 00:27:40,320 Be like your father. 573 00:27:41,680 --> 00:27:43,960 Reflect his goodness. 574 00:27:43,960 --> 00:27:47,320 We are invited to surround our wills and our wants 575 00:27:47,320 --> 00:27:48,920 and to surrender our wills and our wants 576 00:27:48,920 --> 00:27:52,760 and to live life according to God's will 577 00:27:52,760 --> 00:27:55,440 and his desire at the center of our life 578 00:27:55,440 --> 00:27:58,120 and his desire at the center of our life. 579 00:27:58,120 --> 00:28:00,040 And we're called to live as images 580 00:28:00,040 --> 00:28:02,000 of his righteousness here on earth 581 00:28:03,240 --> 00:28:05,360 so that others might see our God, 582 00:28:05,360 --> 00:28:08,080 see our Lord and savior in our lives 583 00:28:08,080 --> 00:28:10,240 and in the way that we act toward one another 584 00:28:10,240 --> 00:28:11,720 and the way that we behave 585 00:28:11,720 --> 00:28:14,520 and they might turn to him and be saved. 586 00:28:14,520 --> 00:28:18,440 Listen, sometimes we can think that this whole idea, 587 00:28:18,440 --> 00:28:20,760 what we're talking about or sanctification 588 00:28:20,760 --> 00:28:22,360 or personal holiness or whatever, 589 00:28:22,360 --> 00:28:25,080 like that's like, hey guys, hold on a second. 590 00:28:25,080 --> 00:28:28,080 I got some personal business I need to take care of with God. 591 00:28:28,880 --> 00:28:30,640 And then let's get back to that church fun stuff. 592 00:28:30,640 --> 00:28:31,760 Woo! 593 00:28:31,760 --> 00:28:34,280 But I got some personal stuff to take care of with God. 594 00:28:34,280 --> 00:28:36,600 It's all the same stuff. 595 00:28:36,600 --> 00:28:38,960 It's the Christian life. 596 00:28:38,960 --> 00:28:41,400 It's lived together in all of our messiness 597 00:28:41,400 --> 00:28:43,360 as we've heard, right? 598 00:28:43,360 --> 00:28:45,680 It's lived together and we're shaped together 599 00:28:45,680 --> 00:28:48,680 and it's your love of me that can change me. 600 00:28:49,880 --> 00:28:53,600 It's your deferring or your charity of your neighbor 601 00:28:53,600 --> 00:28:56,840 or your brother that might cause them to seek after God 602 00:28:56,840 --> 00:28:59,360 because they were loved in such a way. 603 00:28:59,360 --> 00:29:01,000 It's the community of believers 604 00:29:01,000 --> 00:29:03,240 in the way that they live among one another 605 00:29:03,240 --> 00:29:05,320 and in the community that people begin to go, 606 00:29:05,320 --> 00:29:06,440 what is going on over there? 607 00:29:06,440 --> 00:29:08,840 I want to know what, how do I get in? 608 00:29:09,760 --> 00:29:11,120 How do I be a part of that? 609 00:29:13,120 --> 00:29:15,200 Jesus came to seek and save the lost. 610 00:29:15,200 --> 00:29:17,920 It is said that God desires that none should perish 611 00:29:17,920 --> 00:29:20,640 but that all would come to saving knowledge. 612 00:29:20,640 --> 00:29:23,040 And this isn't just some personal morality 613 00:29:23,040 --> 00:29:26,440 but this is gospel kingdom work. 614 00:29:26,440 --> 00:29:28,440 This is how God draws. 615 00:29:28,440 --> 00:29:30,240 This is how God provides. 616 00:29:30,240 --> 00:29:34,040 This is how God saves through his church, 617 00:29:34,040 --> 00:29:34,880 through his people. 618 00:29:34,880 --> 00:29:37,720 If you're waiting for some miracle to happen, 619 00:29:37,720 --> 00:29:39,160 you're the miracle. 620 00:29:42,040 --> 00:29:46,040 And your life centered and oriented on Christ, 621 00:29:46,040 --> 00:29:48,560 you'll begin to see fruit pop out 622 00:29:48,560 --> 00:29:50,920 and you'll begin to see fruit pop out. 623 00:29:50,920 --> 00:29:53,160 You're like, where did that come from? 624 00:29:53,160 --> 00:29:54,920 That is not who I used to be. 625 00:29:56,080 --> 00:29:57,880 And people will take notice of it 626 00:29:57,880 --> 00:29:59,200 and it will encourage them. 627 00:29:59,200 --> 00:30:02,040 It'll be used by God to draw people to himself. 628 00:30:02,040 --> 00:30:06,400 It'll be your generosity because of the generosity of God 629 00:30:06,400 --> 00:30:08,920 will be used to provide for other people. 630 00:30:10,600 --> 00:30:13,000 And the mercy that you give, the forgiveness that you give 631 00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:15,880 may well draw someone to an understanding 632 00:30:15,880 --> 00:30:18,680 of the mercy and grace that God is offering them 633 00:30:18,680 --> 00:30:21,800 and they might surrender their life and be saved 634 00:30:21,800 --> 00:30:23,600 all because we lived it out. 635 00:30:23,600 --> 00:30:24,800 We were like our father. 636 00:30:27,040 --> 00:30:30,600 That's the heart, I think, of the golden rule 637 00:30:32,040 --> 00:30:33,520 centered around Christ's teaching. 638 00:30:33,520 --> 00:30:34,920 Will you pray with me? 639 00:30:34,920 --> 00:30:36,680 Father, I pray that we would be those people, 640 00:30:36,680 --> 00:30:41,680 that we would be who you have designed us to be, 641 00:30:41,920 --> 00:30:45,600 who you have created us in Christ to be, 642 00:30:45,600 --> 00:30:49,160 who you have, the purpose of our new heart 643 00:30:50,680 --> 00:30:52,880 is to live the new life of the kingdom 644 00:30:54,680 --> 00:30:58,640 and to live it out in a bold, unashamed way 645 00:30:59,680 --> 00:31:03,920 with one another in the communities we live, 646 00:31:03,920 --> 00:31:05,160 the people outside this door 647 00:31:05,160 --> 00:31:07,880 so that they might see and be drawn. 648 00:31:07,880 --> 00:31:10,200 I pray, Lord, that you would help us by your grace to do it. 649 00:31:10,200 --> 00:31:14,040 We cannot do it and yet we know that if we are in Christ, 650 00:31:14,040 --> 00:31:16,800 we are a new creation and the old is gone 651 00:31:16,800 --> 00:31:21,160 and the new has come and you are doing this work in us. 652 00:31:23,560 --> 00:31:25,280 And so we can walk boldly into it. 653 00:31:25,280 --> 00:31:28,040 We can step in faith into the calling 654 00:31:28,040 --> 00:31:30,440 that you have placed on our lives 655 00:31:30,440 --> 00:31:33,960 without fear that you won't meet us there. 656 00:31:33,960 --> 00:31:37,840 So Lord, I pray that if there be any hint 657 00:31:37,840 --> 00:31:40,680 of the old self left lingering in our lives, 658 00:31:40,680 --> 00:31:43,480 you would crucify it today. 659 00:31:43,480 --> 00:31:45,680 Put it to death, Lord. 660 00:31:45,680 --> 00:31:49,280 Anything that is weighing us down or holding us back 661 00:31:49,280 --> 00:31:52,880 or tying us down or tethering us to the old way of life 662 00:31:54,680 --> 00:31:56,320 that did not bring about your glory, 663 00:31:56,320 --> 00:31:58,080 did not bring about your righteousness, 664 00:31:58,080 --> 00:31:59,600 was not centered on you, 665 00:31:59,600 --> 00:32:02,200 I pray that you would put it to death in our lives 666 00:32:03,800 --> 00:32:05,840 so that we could live into the glorious freedom 667 00:32:05,840 --> 00:32:08,280 in which you have brought us as children of God 668 00:32:08,280 --> 00:32:11,320 and we can live out of that freedom to your glory, 669 00:32:11,320 --> 00:32:15,120 to your fame, for the good of others. 670 00:32:17,280 --> 00:32:19,720 Lord, I pray if there is anyone in this room 671 00:32:19,720 --> 00:32:22,480 who has got a stingy heart, 672 00:32:24,840 --> 00:32:27,640 they see that they're obsessed with self-ism, 673 00:32:27,640 --> 00:32:31,440 they're self-centered or self-sufficient 674 00:32:31,440 --> 00:32:35,040 or they just can't get over themselves. 675 00:32:35,960 --> 00:32:38,760 I pray that you would break that in their heart. 676 00:32:38,760 --> 00:32:42,640 Their heart would be flooded with compassion, joy, 677 00:32:42,640 --> 00:32:45,640 kindness, love for their fellow brother and sister. 678 00:32:47,200 --> 00:32:51,240 And that generosity, whether financially or anything, time, 679 00:32:53,200 --> 00:32:56,640 whatever it is that they would be a generous person 680 00:32:56,640 --> 00:33:01,000 willing to open up and give of themselves. 681 00:33:02,880 --> 00:33:05,440 Lord, I pray that you would do these things 682 00:33:05,440 --> 00:33:07,240 and by your word that you would shape and mold us, 683 00:33:07,240 --> 00:33:09,680 we ask in Jesus' name, amen. 684 00:33:09,680 --> 00:33:36,160 Amen.